The agreement between the IMF and Hippo is so weak that it appears to be a smokescreen for something sinister. I just dont believe that this is the real deal. There is no way the country can recover with such minutia.
Take a look at it. A fiscal reduction of 1% against the GNP. That means no reduction in the government payroll. No salary increases? So what? Did you expect that salaries would increase anyway? A $10 dollar increase to travellers(Now US$20) In my book that doesnt bring you more than US$30,000,000(Can anybody argue that?) Then an increase of the import tax across the board of 2%. That will not bring much because there will be a drastic reduction on imports, so the tax will only increase the tax level, but will reduce the tax receipts. How can this reduce the dollar exchange? I dont see it. On the contrary it will increase the devaluation instantly. I believe the IMF wants to hold this at at $40 to 1, not reduce it to $30 to $1. The dissolution of Baninter was not an innovation. That had to be done anyway. The increased supervision of banks was a given. We had to do it anyway. Subsidies eliminated? What subsidies? In the last 8 years the government has eliminated most. The check tax? That is just laughable. There is an incredible reduction in the amount of checks written today.
So Hippo has either fooled this people or the IMF has a hidden agenda. I bet there are hundreds of taxes coming up soon.
But where Hippo is fooling this people is with his hidden expenses. Take for instance what Hippo is doing in his little red neck neighborhood of Gurabo. He just bought with government funds a huge mansion which can be measured in acres, not meters. In my observation of the neighborhood this mansion is in, the average price of homes is about $25,000,000. So assuming he got a bargain he paid that much. The mansion is in dire need for repairs and redecoration is a necessity. I figure another $50,000,000 conservatively, since some of the materials will be hijacked from drug confiscations, and lumber from the enviromental agency again.
So while the IMF is preaching austerity to us, Hippo is now building a third mansion, after the Jarabacoa Taj Mahal and the San Cristobal Tahiti Dream. The Gurabo castle will be the real Camp David. He calls it the Cibao National Palace. He now will live in five mansions, including his house in Gurabo and the Juan Dolio beach house. How much room does this man need?
Just in security technology this mansion should require about US$250,000. The landscaping alone could go as high as $5,000,000 pesos.
What else Hippo? How about another mansion at El Morro de Montecristi, another one a Los Haitises, another one at Uvero Alto, an oriental beach house at Bahia de Las Aguilas, and another one at Las Terrenas. That should complete the whole cycle and you would have a mansion in every pole of the island.
TW
Take a look at it. A fiscal reduction of 1% against the GNP. That means no reduction in the government payroll. No salary increases? So what? Did you expect that salaries would increase anyway? A $10 dollar increase to travellers(Now US$20) In my book that doesnt bring you more than US$30,000,000(Can anybody argue that?) Then an increase of the import tax across the board of 2%. That will not bring much because there will be a drastic reduction on imports, so the tax will only increase the tax level, but will reduce the tax receipts. How can this reduce the dollar exchange? I dont see it. On the contrary it will increase the devaluation instantly. I believe the IMF wants to hold this at at $40 to 1, not reduce it to $30 to $1. The dissolution of Baninter was not an innovation. That had to be done anyway. The increased supervision of banks was a given. We had to do it anyway. Subsidies eliminated? What subsidies? In the last 8 years the government has eliminated most. The check tax? That is just laughable. There is an incredible reduction in the amount of checks written today.
So Hippo has either fooled this people or the IMF has a hidden agenda. I bet there are hundreds of taxes coming up soon.
But where Hippo is fooling this people is with his hidden expenses. Take for instance what Hippo is doing in his little red neck neighborhood of Gurabo. He just bought with government funds a huge mansion which can be measured in acres, not meters. In my observation of the neighborhood this mansion is in, the average price of homes is about $25,000,000. So assuming he got a bargain he paid that much. The mansion is in dire need for repairs and redecoration is a necessity. I figure another $50,000,000 conservatively, since some of the materials will be hijacked from drug confiscations, and lumber from the enviromental agency again.
So while the IMF is preaching austerity to us, Hippo is now building a third mansion, after the Jarabacoa Taj Mahal and the San Cristobal Tahiti Dream. The Gurabo castle will be the real Camp David. He calls it the Cibao National Palace. He now will live in five mansions, including his house in Gurabo and the Juan Dolio beach house. How much room does this man need?
Just in security technology this mansion should require about US$250,000. The landscaping alone could go as high as $5,000,000 pesos.
What else Hippo? How about another mansion at El Morro de Montecristi, another one a Los Haitises, another one at Uvero Alto, an oriental beach house at Bahia de Las Aguilas, and another one at Las Terrenas. That should complete the whole cycle and you would have a mansion in every pole of the island.
TW
